What is your legacy?

I was talking with a potential client about entity structure and setting up a trust, and it got me thinking about why we're building legacies in the first place. We want to provide for our families and set them up for success, but ultimately, we want to build something for ourselves too.

For me, my goal was to build my farm operation so big that all four of my kids could come back and farm, make a reasonable salary, and enjoy their lives. I didn't want to sell everything and retire; I wanted to make it sustainable so that I could live off the income and pass it down to the next generation. But then I had to ask myself: is that the best thing for my family? 

Do I want to make life so easy for them that they don't have to work hard?
That's when I realized that my legacy isn't about the money or assets I leave behind; it's about the lessons that I pass down to my kids. Money can come and go, but the knowledge and skills needed to build it will always be valuable.

This reminded me of a book I love called "The Richest Man in Babylon." One of the stories talks about a man who is given three bags of gold and a stone tablet with the rules of money on it. He loses all the gold but is able to build it back up because he has the knowledge and understanding of the rules.

So, what's your legacy? Join me on this episode of Rural Contractors to explore the importance of passing down knowledge and lessons to future generations.

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Looking to improve your contracting business? In this episode, we will talk about the importance of having an estimating process for your contracting business. As carpenters, we love to get our hands dirty and dive into the job, but having a streamlined process for estimating and bidding can really help us bring in more work, keep our crews busy, and ultimately make more money. Having a streamlined and organized estimating process can really help your contracting business thrive. So whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting, take the time to create a process that works for you and your business.

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Welcome to Rural Contractors, the podcast that dives deep into the world of rural contracting. In this episode, your host Paul Osmundson discusses a topic that is a struggle for many contractors - valuing themselves and their work. Paul shares a story about a customer who needed work done and was willing to pay any amount to get it done.

However, the contractor was hesitant to raise their rates and struggled with the idea of charging what they were worth. Paul talks about the importance of valuing yourself and your time and charging what you are worth.

He encourages contractors to bid on jobs and to become more efficient so that they can increase their hourly rate. He shares his own experience of building sheds and making over $100 an hour for his time. Join Paul as he shares his insights on valuing yourself and your work in this engaging and informative episode of Rural Contractors.

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055 | What's Stopping You 

Frequently, we encounter tasks that come to us effortlessly, almost as second nature. We are instinctively drawn to these tasks and prioritize them over those we find less appealing, such as paperwork. As a business owner, I realized that to tackle these less attractive tasks, I needed to shift my perspective and approach them with the same ease and confidence as the tasks that come naturally to me. By breaking down these tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, I can approach them with determination and purpose. Furthermore, I found that some of these processes can be automated using tools like Zapier, enabling me to streamline and optimize repetitive tasks.

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054 | All I do is put out Fires

So many of us are stuck in the rat race of running around putting out fires. We go from one fire to the next doing all these things that have to be done. Sometimes we even put out other people's fires they ask us to do. But we're in this state, and we love it. The fact of the matter is we love putting out fires. We love to be needed. But how many times do we put out the same fires? Because we didn't properly extinguish the fire. What are those fires consistently coming up for you and your business? What are some action steps that you can take to eliminate those fires? If we're always running around putting out fires, we will not show up in the way that we want to in this life for the people we love. My family got put on the back burner, and I ran around and put fires out. But there is an adrenaline rush that comes with putting out fires. How can we put out the fire so that we can consistently build our businesses year after year? What sustainable things can we use to make our fires take less time? What is our fire plan?

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053 | Scaling the Business 

 Scaling your business, it's something we all dream about doing. But do you have the systems and processes to do it? In this episode, we talk about the vision for your company and where you want it to go. What problems you are facing in your industry? Why is it important for you and your family and your customer to solve this problem? Do you have a mission statement and core values? Systems and processes are you organized and efficient? Do you have interview questions for your future team members? Do you have employee contracts? Do you have roles and responsibilities laid out for each team member? Do you understand your finances on a deeper level? To take your business to the next level! Do you understand how banks work? Do you have a system for bookkeeping?

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052 | Extreme Leadership

Extreme leadership. I just read this book that someone recommended to me. And it took me back to how I have failed in the past that being a leader. Realizing that I must let go to let people learn the idea of decentralized command is an awesome tactic. To allow your team gives them a mission and allow them to fulfill it. Does this work instantly from the beginning? Maybe not. But the idea is that I am always there doing every task. I will always be at my job. I have to teach and lead well and let them games skills and knowledge. I have also failed on the other end of being too buddy-buddy and unwilling to make a decision, afraid of hurting somebody's feelings. Being a boss and being a leader are two completely different things. I have seen being a boss and not wanting to be that and then being too lenient. There are so many suitable lessons to be learned from this book. To help build the business

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051 | Money follows Attention!!

Money follows attention. So I was having a conversation with a potential client yesterday. And we were talking about this idea of what it's like talking in front of people on social media. We both agreed hey, I'm not that guy. I get it. I'm not, either. Thinking back about my journey, the first video I ever did. It sucked. This is a constant battle of getting better at speaking your message. But the fact is if I don't speak my message to a large group of people. I will never get to work. I was able to get other jobs from people I didn't know. Because I was speaking a message, I was speaking a story of this is what we do, this is how we do it, this is why we do what we do. This is important, and it gives you an edge over your competition. If I am $5000 more than the next guy down the road. But they don't know what he's done. They haven't watched him on social media. They don't know his system and processes. Can I have these guys presold on me because I have won their confidence?

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